Revival Smoked Meats Relocates to Minneapolis with More Meat, More Bourbon, and More Patio Seats

Revival Smoked Meats, the barbecue/non-fried chicken wing operation for chef Thomas Boemer and Nick Rancone, has exited the Keg & Case food hall. The duo will instead move the restaurant up to a newly remodeled restaurant space that was the longtime home of their celebrated fine-dining restauraunt, Corner Table. Revival Smoked Meats 2.0 should open later this summer. “We want to get some patio time in,” said Rancone.

The location, on Nicollet Avenue not far from the intersection of 46th Street is undergoing renovations that include closing off the kitchen, expanding seating, and revamping the outdoor space to feature a patio that sweeps around the building from the front to the side. In addition to all the additional seats, some of the heavy-wrought iron landscaping and an imposing rock sculpture fountain have been removed. Everything is clean and wide open.

Inside, the kitchen is being enclosed and the dining room laid out to allow for more space.

Revival Smoked Meats will bring back all the favorites from the small counter-service spot in the food hall and expand all things: menu, full bar, and service. On the menu will be the brisket, smoked pork belly, rich sides, and more. Plus, the kitchen includes a fryer and griddle. While there still will be no fried chicken out of this address, there will be room for Revival’s also famous burgers.

Joy Summers

The new iteration will include full service and do away with tipping in favor of a service fee, an emerging trend in reopening restaurants. “It’s the only way to close the equity gap,” said Rancone of the fee, who began his venture as a service industry veteran. “This is how we can true up the costs in the industry and not have a business that’s on the border of death all the time.” The fee allows the restaurant to offer better wages and benefits to staff, while management also commits to creating more stable schedules. “We’re trying to look at everything from a healthier aspect.”

The addition of a full bar will come with more cocktails from Aynsley Jones, who is honing recipes for easy batching. “We’re always thinking, ‘how can we do this better, faster?’” said Rancone. This means quick-pour bourbon drinks. “We’re not flaming oranges over anything.”

Revival is also opening a third fried chicken restaurant, in the new Texa-Tonka development in St. Louis Park. Rancone said that restaurant expects to open early summer. Two other Revivals remain open with in-person dining in Minneapolis’s Kingfield neighborhood and in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill.

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